Sharp SF-2530 will not make full copies - service questions -

[billcaleb]

Greetings. I'm new here.


Recently, I was contacted by the new pastor of a small church concerning their copy machine. The copy machine is a Sharp SF-2530 which had experienced what I was told was a "severe" paper jam well over a year ago which was before the arrival of the new pastor. After the user cleared the jam, the machine would not copy.


I know this is an old machine. I advised them to obtain a more suitable machine as soon as funds are raised, but they asked me to do what I could in the interim and I undertook to see what I could do for them.


I have experience with automated medical laboratory diagnostic systems, mainframe and mini-computer systems and associated peripherals, telco switches and test equipment, industrial process automation, and medium to high-power laser systems, including engraving and cutting systems. I think I still have a bottle or two of corona dope somewhere around here.


Notes:


1. As near I can determine, the machine has had no service or maintenance since installation, except for toner replacement and disposal. There was one 'service record' in the pouch affixed to the rear of the unit, but it was handwritten and undated, merely what a user may have jotted down during a conversation with a service technician, and consisted of sim code steps to clear error conditions.


2. The machine has made <60,000 copies over its service.


3. As far as I know the developer supply has not been recharged.


4. There are no error codes displayed and the machine appears to function perfectly mechanically.


5. New toner was added to the hopper last summer and the spent toner was disposed of at that time.




The symptoms are as follows:


When a copy (of a randomly selected magazine page with ~12 pt. type and half-tones) is tried, the result is a nearly blank piece of paper. There is a faint image on the first inch or so of the leading edge of the paper, the text may be read (just barely), and a half-tone image can be seen very faintly. This is only for the first inch or so of the leading edge of the paper; the image then fades to blank for the remainder of the page--except for a light, somewhat speckled dusting of (fused) toner that is hardly noticeable.


I speculate that:


Because the copier worked well right up until the "severe" jam mentioned above was cleared by the user, the charging (corona) wire may have been damaged while clearing the jam.


My plan is to check the charging wire first. Then next, the drum ground path. I have the user manual and service and parts manuals that apply to this machine; i.e., I have the service manual for the SF-2030 and the differential service bulletins for the SF-2530 --> SF-2530 model changes.


If there is anyone with experience on this machine or who has any general suggestions on how to proceed, I would be grateful for any assistance.


I am pretty sure I have the appropriate test equipment and tools to service this unit but was wondering (if I get that far, since they simply need to make readable copies for a few months until they obtain a new machine) could I cobble something up to replace the UKOG-0110FCZZ test unit for measuring the front-to-back charge difference on the drum? Or is there an alternate method to conduct this test?




Thanks.

[ZOOTECH]

WOW, I don't know where to start on this.
The fact that DV probably has not been changed, even though it's rated at 80k, it won't last forever. The machine has only 60k, but is at least 15 years old (first digit of S/N is the year manufactured and the last is the month).
I hope you can find the SF-230ND somewhere, it's been discontinued by Sharp for many years. That is where I would start, but first do an emergency stop midway of copy to see if image is on drum - it might be a transfer trouble.
Run TC 25-1, it will monitor toner density, and should read between ~ 90 and ~120.
Do not even consider a DCD (?) check on drum charge - in 15 years, I've only tried it once, and unsuccessfully at that.

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[harleyrider]

Yep start with the basics first - charge or transfer corona or dv unit.

[brewster67]

Easiest way to troubleshoot this is to make a sky shoot (lift doc feed and make a copy with nothing on he glass) and stop the machine just as paper gets to the drum. Pull the drum out if it does not have a solid fill of toner on it then there is a problem with main charge or DV. If there is a solid fill of toner but none on the paper then you have a transfer corona problem.

[slimslob]

I would say that you definitely have a developer problem. Having set for over a year, the toner has probably caked to the sides and bottom of the development unit and is not mixed into to the developer. The approximate one inch of almost legible copy on the lead edge is from the first rotation of the development roller while it still has some toner on it. I have seen this a number of times. You might be able to get the toner to mix back into the developer by running the development motor for 4 or 5 minutes to agitate the developer.

I would replace the developer and possibly the development unit. Developer is available from after market suppliers. Just Google it. You might also be able to find a new development unit.

Your best bet is to sell them a new machine. The better impression you make with them the better the chance of getting a sale. Include a finisher that can do center stapling and fold and you can save them a lot of time when doing bulletins for Sunday services

[billcaleb]

Thank you, ZOOTECH et al., for your responses. I appreciate it.



I'll physically check the charging wire, do the stop-during-[sky]copy and check for image, and also check toner density with 25-01.


ZOOTECH, brewster67, and slimbob all suggest that the developer would be a first place to look. harleyrider mentioned "the basics" Good and useful advice, I thank you all.


I notice also 25-02 and areas of main code 22 that apply to the developer.


Yes, I have seen some developer available on line.


I've been led to believe that the copier worked relatively flawlessly up until just after the "severe" jam was cleared. There are some additional complications:

[EDIT in progress]
The copier was kept and used for years in a relatively damp location. This is a basement that is not well-ventilated, and currently, the machine sits against an outside wall, between a large wood stove and low-set, louvered, warehouse-style forced air heater. The machine is within feet of each intermittent heat source and is unshielded from them. Most of its service life has been spent in that basement, although I don't know if it was always kept so close to the heaters. The paper jam was attributed to damp paper and that the copier was moved upstairs after it failed to work, in order to mitigate the issue of dampness of paper. The fact that the copier had been used continuously throughout its years of use in the basement until the severe paper jam occurred, and that it failed to make copies just after clearing that jam, led me to suspect that there was some specific damage due to clearing it. Charging wire damage, I suspected.


I also wondered if there might be an issue with clumping (or even decomposing) toner or developer due to humidity and temperature fluctuations. From what I gather, the copier was used lightly by students on a Sunday-school/study-group basis, and somewhat more heavily for regular newsletter production and general office correspondence, etc.. But this clumping defect would result in gradual degradation, I would think, and wouldn't cause a sudden failure to make copies.


Of course, I may not have the complete picture of the nature of the failure itself or the circumstances under which the it occurred. I'm basing the initial approach on sudden 'failure to copy after clearing a jam'. I may have to revise this.


I don't like to see a potentially interesting thread suddenly die due to abandonment, so I'll keep posting here until I have some resolution.


Thanks all, for the good advice.



Onward.

[billcaleb]

This post is the edit to the information in my above post. It seemed to make more sense to make a new post rather than add to the above post.



This machine was used in an above-ground office until there was a water leak that resulted in an extreme level of humidity there for an extended time. Preemptively, the machine was moved to the basement and placed (unshielded) between the woodstove and the forced-air heater. There, it continued to work for some time. This is where the "severe" paper jam occurred. This was three to four years ago.


The jam involved "more than at least 20 sheets" and stock was fed from the (front) duplex module rather than the manual (side) feed. After the jam was cleared, the copier continued to function for some time (possibly ~two years). Due to changes in demography (the pastor retired, attendance declined, Sunday schools and study groups were canceled, the old pastor left, a new pastor was sought, etc.), the copier was used less and less. At some point it was discovered that the copier wasn't working well, and the necessary copies were made at the local library.


Now, with new pastor, the church needs a copier. They would like to squeeze a few more copies out of this machine while they arrange for another copier.


That's quite a different scenario from what I initially surmised.


Thank you all again for the good advice and information. I'll post more after I visit the machine.


billcaleb

[CCS]

Put a mark on developer unit drive gears facing a certain way, re-install dv unit, run sim. 25-01 a few seconds and stop, pull out dv unit and look for your mark, if the mark is still in same location your dv unit is not turning. If DV unit is not turning it would cause your faint/blank copies, then look for bad drive gears either on the dv unit or inside machine drive. This may not be the fix, but is common.

[oldrn]

Did you say a prayer asking God to help you learn patience, or anger control, or persistence . You will need all of these on this one. I understand the desire to help the church but I think your time could be better spent doing something else. Low copy count off-lease machines are out there just looking for a home, especially the older machines. Take their originals down the street for them while they or you look for another machine. Sorry but there are an awful lot of strikes against you on this one.